Qing Dynasty Militia Vest Circa ~1890

[HatEnjoyer]

Long time no see! It's been a while since I last posted, so I thought I'd share one of my newest finds, sourced straight from China: A Qing Dynasty militia/"Brave" vest from the late 19th century.

In Qing Dynasty China, the term "Braves" could be used to refer to any armed unit from a small posse to a large provincial army. Unlike the Eight Banner Army (China's standing army in those days), Braves were tasked with not only fighting when regional authorities demanded, but also with policing and warding off bandits. This constant vigilance made them much more effective in combat than the Eight Banner Army. Many of the major victories against the Taiping Rebels during the Taiping Rebellion were credited to Brave units because the Eight Banner Army performed so poorly.

This Brave vest is completely hand-stitched, and although it isn't in the best condition, vests like these are so obscenely rare that I'm glad I even had the opportunity to pick one up. Based on the color of the fabric underneath the blue trim, I assume this vest used to be red or pink rather than white back in its heyday. The vest is pictured with my village-made oxtail dandao, which dates to around the same period.

 

[b.loree]

Very cool and something I have never seen or heard of before!

 

[HatEnjoyer]

Very cool and something I have never seen or heard of before!

Glad I could introduce you to the wonderful world of Qing Dynasty militaria!

It's all very fascinating to me, though there isn't much from the era that's collectable aside from bladed weapons and the occasional hat. Speaking of which, a hat I ordered from China recently arrived at my friend's place, so I'm very excited to put that together with the vest and sword!

You can't quite see it because these photos are pretty blurry and the hat is dusty, but there are painted Chinese characters on it that suggest either militia or patrol officer use.

 

[Kaiser Wilhelm II]

I have an intense fascination with the last years of the Qing Dynasty, and the European "interventions" in China.
These are very interesting articles, and certainly not anything I have ever seen.
Thank you for sharing your items.

 

[HatEnjoyer]

I have an intense fascination with the last years of the Qing Dynasty, and the European "interventions" in China.
These are very interesting articles, and certainly not anything I have ever seen.
Thank you for sharing your items.

It's my pleasure! Here's one I think you'd enjoy. I had the opportunity to purchase this a while back, but I found it too delicate for shipping overseas (it was in China naturally). The characters on this one say something along the lines of "defeat the foreign demons" on it. Almost certainly a Boxer Rebellion piece.

 

[Bobted]

Fabulous I have a lot of Victorian Boxer medals but I did not realise you could get ancient Chinese uniforms! I guess it helps it you can speak Chinese. The Tiger spear looks especially nasty. Rob

 

[HatEnjoyer]

Fabulous I have a lot of Victorian Boxer medals but I did not realise you could get ancient Chinese uniforms! I guess it helps it you can speak Chinese. The Tiger spear looks especially nasty. Rob

They are very rare, but they're definitely out there! I think the biggest challenge is finding the right spot to search. Western dealers have a tendency to overprice these items, even if they're very crude, village-made items like these. So, to work around that, I buy all my items straight from the source. The prices are fair, and the selection is much better than in the West.

The tiger fork in that reference image is awesome! I've debated buying the head of one just for kicks, but I'm afraid that the shipping cost might make me bankrupt.